The East London IDZ

East London was South Africa’s first operational IDZ. With its bulk infrastructure finalised, the 430ha greenfields site is now a world-class industrial zone with 11 investors on site. Seven of these investors moved in during 2006/7. Together, they invested R395-million into their operations in the IDZ, bringing the value of investments since inception to R755-million in 2002, and creating 578 direct jobs, bringing the number of direct manufacturing jobs created in the zone so far to 1,118. That is apart from the thousands of construction-related jobs created during the development phase of the IDZ. New investors include Johnson Controls, Feltex and TI Automotive.

The IDZ is located alongside the original equipment manufacturer, DaimlerChrysler South Africa (DCSA). An exciting development at the IDZ was the commissioning and constructing of an automotive supplier park (ASP) – all in a record six months. Many of the new investors are located in the ASP, which streamlines operations and ensures just-in-time and just-in-sequence supplies to DCSA. The manufacturer is now producing the new C-Class Mercedes Benz model for export at the East London factory.

More than 100 fully serviced sites are ready to receive investors. Adequate supply of electricity, water and other related services ensure full steam operations for manufacturers that have already settled in the zone. They have easy access to key local and export markets and are able to enjoy on-time delivery of raw materials. Well positioned close to national road, rail and air networks, as well as the East London Port, the IDZ is strategically poised to provide a highly valuable investment offering to local and international investors.

The East London IDZ focuses on the following sectors:

• Automotives and components: The busy East London Port boasts a state-of-the-art motor vehicle terminal that can load or offload one vehicle every 30 seconds, and the area is building itself as an important hub for the automotive industry. The IDZ has identified a range of further for investors in this sector, including immobilisers, fuel injectors, light and instrument clusters, satellite tracking mechanisms, acoustic systems, plastic mouldings and paintings, door trim panels and centre consoles.
• Marine aquaculture: Established investors include Seatek, an abalone farm
• Agro-processing: Bio-fuels, food and timber processing
• Pharmaceuticals
• ICT and electronics, and business process outsourcing and offshoring

Contact the East London IDZ:

Website:www.elidz.co.za
Phone: +27 43 702 8200
Fax: +27 43 736 6405
Email: info@elidz.co.za